Antenatal Testing

In the UK, all pregnant women receiving NHS antenatal care are offered antenatal screening to help detect the presence of health conditions in the developing baby. The screening you are offered will depend on where you live in the UK. You should have received information from your healthcare professional about the testing when you were asked if you wished to have testing. However if you have never received this, have lost it or cannot remember the information please follow the links below for the country you live in.

At the time of writing this page, in 2018, there are significant upcoming changes to the screening programme in England. We will endeavour to ensure this information is kept as up to date as possible to reflect these changes.

If you have received care through a private provider, you will need to have information from them in respect of which tests they use and any results. It is important that you understand which tests you have been offered or have had and what these mean, so that you can make any decisions you have been asked to make. If you are unclear about this, please go back to your healthcare professional who will help explain this fully to you.

Screening Tests

Screening tests are used to find people who are at higher risk of a health condition. They are non-invasive tests, so having the test does not pose any risk to your health or the health of your baby. Screening tests are used because they are easily undertaken, low cost testing methods that can be offered to everyone at an early stage of their pregnancy. This means that anyone who is identified as high risk will have that information as early in their pregnancy as possible. This is important because it enables families to take decisions about their pregnancy at an early stage.However screening tests can only tell you about the RISK of a condition. They cannot tell you for definite if your baby definitely has a condition or not. Therefore sometimes the results of a screening test can make a family worried when their baby does not have a condition. The opposite is also true and sometimes the tests indicate that there is a low risk, when a baby is affected. The efficacy of screening tests varies depending on which type of test you have, so it is important to read the information for the SPECIFIC test.

Diagnostic Tests

Diagnostic tests will be able to tell you if your baby definitely has a chromosomal condition such as Trisomy 13 or 18 or Trisomy 21. At present, all diagnostic antenatal testing carries a small risk to the pregnancy. The risk incurred with each form of testing varies and is detailed in the SPECIFIC information on that test. Risks can be higher in a multiple pregnancy, so please discuss this specifically with your healthcare team.

Results of Chromosome Tests

Genetics is the study of human cells, and a Clinical Geneticist will interpret the results of chromosome tests. When tests during pregnancy have shown a chromosome abnormality the clinical geneticist, if consulted, will discuss the results with the family.

Other sources information you might find helpful include:

ARC (Antenatal Results and Choices): a national charity helping parents through antenatal screening and its consequences. ARC offers non-directive individualised information and support to parents who are making decisions around antenatal testing.

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